


these are my people

by parkrstark



Series: Asexual!Peter [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Asexuality, Fluff, Gen, Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 18:58:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14879381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: Tony takes Peter to his first Pride Parade and helps him be a little more proud of who he is.





	these are my people

**Author's Note:**

> So, really funny story....  
> If you go to my first fic in the series that I posted months ago, I claim to be nowhere on the spectrum of asexuality...well, as the weeks have passed, I've realized that yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere on there...so I would like to thank Peter for helping myself start to understand all of this. 
> 
> Also, you can all thank losingmymindtonight for hyping me up for this.

Peter had the phone pressed between his ear and shoulder as he finished up his math homework. He had called Tony an hour ago when he needed help with a physics question on a take-home test. Tony has offered to help him go over every question so he was sure to get 100. 

 

That only took close to a half hour and then they spent the rest of the time just talking. It had been almost a week since he last saw Tony. Finals were coming up and he was spending all of his free time studying. 

 

He was paying half attention to his homework and half attention to the conversation, so he wasn't sure what story he was telling when Tony cut him off quickly. 

 

“Hey, Pete?” 

 

Peter blinked. “Hey, Mr. Stark,” he said, questioningly. 

 

“Are you free next Saturday?” Tony asked.

 

Furrowing his brow, Peter tried to think if he had anything else planned. He didn't think so since he didn't plan anything this close to the end of the year. “Uh, yeah. I should be. Why? You want me to come down to the lab?” 

 

“Yeah. Well, we won't be working in the lab. In fact, just meet me at the tower. We'll go up to my floor before we leave.” 

 

Going on Tony's floor really wasn't a rare thing. After long nights in the lab, they'd stumble up there to eat a quick snack before falling asleep on either his living room couches or their beds. Tony had a room on his floor redone to be Peter's. 

 

“Sounds good, Mr. Stark. Should I, uh, bring anything with me? Do you have something planned?” Peter cursed under his breath when he noticed an obvious mistake he made in his pre-calc homework. 

 

“Number 1: language. Number 2: I sure do, buckaroo,” Tony said and Peter could hear the smile in his voice. 

 

“Well, excuse me. I have an old man disrupting my concentration. You know, I could call May in here and she'll yell at you again for calling me during homework time.” Peter grinned. 

 

“I'm appalled that you think I'm old, Spider-Baby. And the days of sicking your Aunt on me are long over. Haven't you heard? We're buddies now.” 

 

Peter rolled his eyes. It was true; May and Tony got along much better. In fact, they were almost like actual friends. Tony would come over for dinner some nights, some days when Peter was at school they would hang out. It was a little weird to walk into his living room after school and see Tony Stark wearing a face mask with his aunt as they both held a glass of wine. 

 

But, it actually warmed Peter's heart. His family hadn't ever been big to start-- and after Ben...it went from three to two. His aunt didn't get much time to go out and start dating (which, selfishly, maybe Peter was glad for) and while she had a group of girl friends she met up with every so often, they weren't family. 

 

When Tony came over with take out bags in his hand, sat down at their small table and ate the food with May and him while they just talked...it felt like maybe Peter's family wasn't so broken. 

 

“Exactly. So, she'll feel even more comfortable yelling at you for disrupting her nephew’s homework time.” Peter erased yet another mistake. 

 

“I'll tell her about your stash of gummy bears at my place.” 

 

Peter's eyes widened. Tony had bought him a 5lb box of gummy worms when he was a little tipsy on wine after a long night with May. They both decided to hide it from May or else she would confiscate Peter's box and Tony's credit card. “You wouldn't.”

 

“Try me.” 

 

Peter rolled his eyes fondly. “Okay, okay. You didn't call to threaten my gummy bears, what do you want?” 

 

“I accomplished what I set out to do. I invited my little buddy to the Pride Parade with me.”

 

“You--  _ what?”  _ Peter asked, feeling his heart quicken. He knew one was coming up in NYC. They held at least one every year and Peter liked to see the videos and pictures afterwards. He'd always known he'd belonged there; since he found boys and girls both attractive. 

 

But this...this would be the first year since Tony helped figure out his place on the asexual spectrum. Did he even belong there? He didn't like  _ anything _ . He remembered the rainbow flags flying high, along with others like the bisexual, lesbian, and transgender flags. But asexual flags...he barely saw them. 

 

The first thing he did when Tony suggested he may be asexual was go home and look up the flag. That was the first time he'd seen the flag. 

 

He could go to the parade, where was supposed to be included...but what if he was the only one? What if he was  _ that kid  _ even after he was with the group of people that was supposed to be accepting. He was tired of feeling left out. He just wanted to find someplace that welcomed him without him having to be the loser, the freak--. 

 

“--eter? You still with me?” 

 

Peter shook his head, coming out of his thoughts. “Y-yeah, sorry.” 

 

“Don't worry about it. So, is that a yes? You comin’ with?” Tony asked and he sounded so hopeful, Peter couldn't say no. 

 

“Of course,” he heard himself saying. 

 

“Awesome! See ya then, Pete.”

 

Peter gulped. “Yeah...okay. Thanks, Mr. Stark. Goodbye.” 

 

“Bye, kid,” Tony said, not picking up on how awkward Peter sounded. Then he hung up, leaving Peter to worry about how the hell he was going to get out of this. There was no way he was going to let himself be outcasted from another group. 

  
  


\--

 

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get out of it. May laughed when he asked her to tell Tony they were having a night out together. She held his cheeks, kissed the top of his head and said, “Go with Tony, baby. You'll have a great time.”

 

So, it was Saturday morning already and he was in the elevator heading up to Tony's floor. He was already waiting in the sitting area. 

 

Peter was bundle of nerves just waiting to explode. Maybe Tony would believe him if he said he wasn't feeling well? Fake a stomach bug-- well, with the anxious nausea churning his stomach, it wouldn't be a lie. 

 

_ “Peter?”  _  FRIDAY’s disembodied voice rang out in the elevator. It was soft, like she knew Peter wasn't feeling the best.  _ “We are here. Would you like me to keep the doors shut for a few extra moments?”  _

 

Peter wanted to say yes, but if he did, he'd probably stay in there all day. So, he shook his head and took in a deep breath. “No, thanks, FRI. I'm ready.” 

 

The doors opened and Peter took a shaky step forward-- which was crazy. There was nothing for Peter to be nervous about. If he really couldn't do this, all he had to do was tell Tony, “Mr. Stark, I don't want to go.” and he would cancel the plans immediately. 

 

But he wasn't going to do that. Tony sounded so excited to go and Peter wanted to give it a try as well. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he was fearing. 

 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter called as he stepped into the sitting.  

 

“Coming!” He shouted from somewhere on the floor. It only took him like a minute to come into the room. 

 

Peter blinked in surprise when he saw what Tony was wearing. It was almost...underwhelming. It was no secret Tony Stark attended the Pride Parades. 

 

Personally, Peter's favorite year was when he painted an Iron man suit to replicate the bisexual flag. He even wired his gauntlets to shoot out bursts of mixed blue, pink, and purple confetti. It was freaking amazing. 

 

But now, he was dressed casual...well, casual for Tony Stark. 

 

He was wearing navy blue pants and a shirt that said “can't think straight” with the letters colored like a bisexual flag. He finished his look up with stripes of blue, purple, and pink under his eyes. 

 

Peter read the shirt and let out a short giggle. 

 

Tony's lips quirked as he gestured to his shirt. “You like it? I took a page from your book with the punny t-shirts.” 

 

Peter nodded with a smile. “It looks very nice.” 

 

“I'm glad you think so. I've got one for you.” He leaned down to pick up a black shirt off the couch. “Well, different shirt, but punny all the same.” 

 

Peter looked at it curiously, but still he said, “You didn't have to get me anything. I'm fine.” 

 

Tony gave a once over for his outfit with his raised eyebrows. “You're wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.” 

 

Peter pulled his shirt and looked down. He shrugged his shoulders. “There's some black in the asexual flag.” 

 

“Oh, come on, Parker.” Tony threw the shirt at him and Peter caught it quickly. “You need to represent.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Peter unfolded the shirt and held it in front of him. On the black shirt, written the  _ Stars Wars  _ font was: ‘Solo’ colored with the asexual flag. He lowered it just so his eyes were showing to Tony. “Seriously?” 

 

“It's  _ Star Wars,  _ and it's the name of your little man crush-- which is actually the pun because you prefer to be  _ solo _ in the bedroom.” Tony winked with a smirk. 

 

Peter felt his cheeks burn. “Stop it.” 

 

Tony feigned innocence. “Stop what? Talking about your kinda freakishly weird obsession with Han Solo that I'm going to bring up with your therapist the next time I see her.” 

 

“When will you ever stop bringing that up?” 

 

Tony paused to think. “Hmmm...never. Now put it on. We don't have all day.” 

 

Peter pulled his shirt off and threw it at Tony's face. Then he pulled on his new shirt and smoothed it out. “Happy?” 

 

“I know you are,” Tony said. 

 

Peter couldn't argue with that. He really was happy. Most of the anxiety from earlier was mostly gone. Tony always knew how to make him feel better. “Are we done?” 

 

“No, now get over here.” He patted the couch cushion next to him. 

 

Peter came over and sat down next to his mentor. Tony grinned and pulled out a small pallet of face paints. “Are we going to have matching eye black?” 

 

“Of course. Now lean over so I can reach you.” He used the pad of his finger to dip in the black and then put two identical stripes under Peter's eyes. 

 

Peter huffed out a small laugh and went to pull back. 

 

“You're the first person I know to have  _ ticklish cheeks _ .” Tony used one of his clean fingers to poke his nose Peter scrunched his nose. “Stop wrinkling your cheeks, I need to work.” He sticks a clean finger in the gray and makes two more stripes. He replicates the same motion with white and purple. 

 

Once he was finished, he pulled back and grinned. “Lookin’ good, squirt.” 

 

Peter shoved him lightly. “Shut up…” 

 

Tony paused and his face suddenly turned serious. “You're okay with going, right?” 

 

Peter nodded and gave him a small smile. “Yeah. I'm excited.”

 

“Great because I've got another surprise for you.” 

 

“Mr. Stark, you didn't have to--.”

 

“Shush and close your eyes.” 

 

Peter did so but not before rolling them. “Okay. They're closed.” He heard the couch rustling and then there was something being wrapped around his shoulders. “Can I open them?”

 

“Yup.”

 

Peter peeked open his eyes and looked at Tony questioningly. Then he turned to look at what Tony was now tying around his neck. His eyes widened when he saw an asexual flag draped around his shoulders and down his back. 

 

“It's a cape,” Tony said simply. “Even though you're not Spider-Man right now, you're still a superhero.” 

 

Peter scoffed. “Yeah right.” 

 

“No,” Tony argued, “you are. Think about someone there that isn't brave enough like you to stand up and be open with how they feel. They're going to see you and they're going to think: ‘yeah, I can do that too’.” 

 

“Sure, Mr. Stark.” 

 

“Don't ‘sure’ me, brat,” Tony huffed as he stood up. “You don't believe me, then let's go try it out.” 

 

Peter stood up, looking behind him as the flag flowed behind him. He liked it but...he was worried once again. What if he was the only one wearing gray and white and black while everyone else was wearing rainbows of bright colors? He would be the easiest to pull from the crowd as different. 

 

He shouldn't be ashamed-- and he wasn't. He didn't like sex and he was still trying to work with being proud of it. It was hard for people to understand that there were people that didn't like sex and it made Peter feel just a bit self conscious. Gay, bisexual, lesbian-- at least they liked  _ something.  _

 

“We don't have to go, kiddo,” Tony said in a soft voice again. 

 

Peter shook his head quickly, standing up straight. “No. I wanna go.” 

 

Tony ruffled his hair. “Let's go then.” 

 

\--

 

Peter was feeling a little overwhelmed as they got to one of the meeting spots. There were so many people around them, all as colorful as a bag of Skittles. Rainbows were everywhere. Some were so covered that their skin wasn't showing, and others wore just enough covering their skin to be considered decent in public. 

 

He smiled as he saw a little boy wearing a rainbow tutu went running past them, not long after two men chasing him calling for him to slow down. 

 

“Ahh,” Tony said, looking around and resting his sunglasses (yes: they were printed with bisexual flags) on the top of his head, “my people.” 

 

Peter laughed, standing just a bit closer Tony. He hadn't seen anyone else with his colors yet. He looked over at Tony again, wondering why he had worn something he could wear any day when Peter knew he loved going all out. “What happened to your suit? The one you usually wear.” 

 

Tony shrugged his shoulder, sniffing. “It's your first year. Tony Stark wearing nothing but his flag wrapped around himself like a toga definitely captures a lot of attention.” He wrapped an arm around his shoulder, careful of the flag. “Today, it's just you and me, bud.” 

 

Peter felt the butterflies in his stomach calm down slightly. “Thanks.” 

 

“No prob--.” 

 

“Hey, loser!” 

 

Peter froze at the familiar voice. He barely had time to try and find where she was when he felt a solid punch to his arm. 

 

“Didn't know you were coming to Pride,” MJ said, standing in front them. She was a mash up of pinks and purples. 

 

“Didn't think to mention it,” he said weakly.

 

Her eyes looked him over and she smirked when they landed on his shirt. “You're such a nerd.” 

 

“It's a pun,” he said, unsure of what else to say. 

 

“I know, doofus.” She looked over at Tony and her smiled disappeared. “Not a fan of you, Stark. But I respect your activeness in our community.” 

 

Tony blinked. “Thanks?” 

 

MJ nodded before turning back to Peter and grinning. “Have fun, dude. I gotta go.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder when he saw a group of girls, looking like a giant lesbian flag all mashed together. 

 

“Yeah, you too, MJ.” Peter waved at her before she went running off. 

 

Once she was gone, Tony cleared his throat. “Friend from school?” 

 

Peter immediately remembered what she said, “I'm sorry. She didn't mean anything by--.” 

 

“There's no reason for you to apologize,” Tony said smoothly. “Now how about we go find our spot before they leave without us.” 

 

_ They?  _ “Sure,” he said anyway, not wanting to ruin Tony's plans. 

 

Tony smiled wide and led Peter through the crowded street. Peter smiled at every person they walked past. He was just happy to see so many other people happy in one place. 

 

Peter was so enthralled with everything around him that he didn't realize where they were going until they stopped and Tony patted his shoulder. Peter turned to look at Tony and then followed where his finger was pointing. 

 

His eyes widened when he saw what was in front of him. “Oh, my God,” he murmured as he looked in front of him. There had to have been close to 30 people in the small group, all dressed up in different mixes of black, gray, white, and purple. 

 

“When you said you were coming, I found a group for asexual pride that would be attending. Figured you'd want, and needed, to see some of your own.”

 

Peter couldn't tear his eyes away. “You...you found this for me?”

 

Tony sounded confused. “Well, yeah. You wanna go say hi? They're waiting.”

 

Nodding his head was all he could do. Tony laughed and put an arm around him and started walking them to the group. They immediately gained a woman's attention. She waved and smiled widely. Her lips were painted purple while her eye shadow was shades of black and gray and white. “You must be Peter!”

 

Peter looked over at Tony and he nodded his head in encouragement. Peter took a step forward. “Yeah, that's me.” 

 

“Your dad told me this was your first parade,” her voice was soft and patient.

 

Tony wasn't his dad, but Peter wasn't about to correct her. “Yeah...I haven't-- I just realized I'm asexual a few months ago.” He was afraid that that wasn't good enough. Maybe they would be upset at him for taking so long or not having much exper--.

 

“That's awesome! We're happy to have you. Thanks for coming,” she said, crushing all of Peter's doubts. “Come on and join us.” She started walking over and Tony followed her, grabbing Peter's hand to pull him along. 

 

He was still in shock from how many people were in this group. He immediately remembered that Tony was not dressed to fit in here. “Mr. Stark, what about you?” 

 

“Pete, I've had my share of parades. This is your first time and I want you to have the best. As long as I'm spending today with you, seeing how excited you are for all of this, I'm happy.” 

 

Peter gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

 

“You're welcome, kiddie.” 

 

“Hey! I like your flag!” A little girl called out to him from the shoulders of her father. She was wearing a purple dress and it looked beautiful against her chocolate skin. 

 

Peter looked up and gave her a smile. “Thank you. I love your dress.”

 

The little girl grinned at him, showing off her dimples. “My mommy made it! If you want, she could make you one too!”

 

“I'd love that, but I don't think I'd look as good in it as you do,” Peter said. 

 

“I'm sure you'd look very pretty,” she replied seriously. 

 

Peter laughed. “That's sweet of you.” He looked at the couple smiling up at their daughter. Her mother was pale white with fiery orange curls and her father had blue eyes and blonde hair. 

 

The father must have noticed him looking. “Her name is Angel. We adopted her two years ago.” 

 

Peter's smile widened even more as he looked up at her again. “Hey, Angel. My name is Peter.”

 

“Are you gonna walk with us?” She asked excitedly. 

 

Nodding his head, Peter said, “If I'm allowed to accompany you, princess.”

 

Angel giggled and kicked her feet as her dad held securely to her ankles. “Of course, you can, silly!”

 

“Awesome.” 

 

They started walking and Peter talked with Angel for a bit until she fell asleep up there using her dad's head as a pillow. Tony noticed their conversation end and he elbowed Peter's arm. “Making friends already, huh?”

 

Peter rolled his eyes fondly. “You're just jealous that she doesn't think you're pretty like me.” He paused before continuing, “Her parents adopted her.”

 

“Being asexual doesn't mean you don't want children.” 

 

Of course, Peter knew this. He didn't want sex, but he definitely saw kids in his future. And even if he wasn't asexual, adopting would have been his decision either way. He could be the one to give a lost little kid a home again. “I'm going to adopt,” Peter told Tony. 

 

Tony looked at him with interest. “Really? Well, I can't wait for the day. I'm going to spoil your children silly.”

 

Peter smiled. Tony planned to be there for Peter's kids. That meant he was planning to stay by his side for years to come. Maybe even for the rest of their lives?

 

Tony spoke up when Peter was quiet for a few moments, “I'm glad you're enjoying yourself.”

 

“I am, Mr. Stark! Thank you so much for bringing me.” He looked around at all the flags waving proudly around him. “Look-- there are so many asexual flags!”

 

“No, Peter: look at all of  _ your  _ flags.” 

 

Peter smiled up at him, looked around again, and then back at the flag tied around his neck. It flew behind him like a cape. He grinned at Tony and said, “I have a pretty cool flag.”

 

Tony nodded once, ruffling Peter's hair. “Damn right you do.”

 

Peter leaned against Tony and let him drape an arm around his shoulders (but under the flag, so it still flew). He was right he was here he belonged. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've never attended a pride parade, so please excuse any inaccuracies. 
> 
> MJ, at least to me, so lesbian, so I had to give her a little cameo. There's no way she doesn't attend Pride.
> 
> You can also bet your butts that Tony stark is a bisexual icon, but I thought he would be more lowkey with peter. Since he knew the kid was feeling nervous. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Leave your thoughts below!


End file.
